Swarm robotics is an emerging technology field in which populations of autonomous agents coordinate their behavior through a distributed algorithmic architecture. In such swarms, there is a need for a robust, easily implementable, rapidly adaptive communication method that can accommodate the dense, complex and range-limited nature of robotic swarm communication. Specifically, the challenges of scalability, throughput, management, and monitoring are germane in the design or selection of a communication system for a swarm.
Scalability relates to the ability of the system to accommodate swarms with large numbers of agents. A swarm may consist of only a few agents, or of several hundred agents or more. A swarm may be an open system where the size of a swarm may quickly change as agents are added or removed while the swarm is operating. In such a situation it may be advantageous for the communication system not to rely on pre-coordination of agents. Furthermore, as the size of a swarm changes the appropriate rate for inter-agent communication may change, and it may be advantageous for agents to be able to self-adapt as the swarm size changes.
Throughput relates to the rate at which data can be transmitted between one agent and another or the total rate at which data is transmitted between agents in the swarm; the latter quantity may be referred to as “total throughput”. Various combinations of signal attenuation and radio interference may limit the successful transmission of signals. As such, it may be advantageous for the communication system to be self-adjusting, e.g., continually adapting to achieve high throughput as the swarm reconfigures.
Management refers to control of the swarm by an operator. If agents in a swarm only communicate over short distances it may be challenging for an operator to manage the entire group, especially agents that are out of direct communication. As such, it may be advantageous for the communication system to enable the reliable dissemination of group commands and the creation of group-scale coherent behavior.
Monitoring refers to the ability of an operator to obtain information about the status and activity of the agents in the swarm. If the radio signals that the agents broadcast are only intended for short-distance communication with close neighbors, it may be challenging for an operator outside a swarm to efficiently monitor the activity of all the agents.
Existing technologies may be poorly suited for deployment in large swarms that may freely reconfigure, and in which it is advantageous to be able to add or remove vehicles without pre-planning and without disrupting the communication integrity of the swarm.
Thus, there is a need for an improved communication system for a swarm of agents.